Suspected Copper Wire Thief Electrocuted in Stockton

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STOCKTON-

Police said a man was electrocuted and killed after attempting to steal copper wiring from an unfinished subdivision in south Stockton.

Now officers are hoping to find his accomplice.

The accidental death happened on Old Oak Drive near B Street, and police say a pair of wire cutters were discovered next to the man's body.

"I was in the house, heard a loud pop, and the lights kind of dimmed down," said neighbor Joseph Silva. "Refrigerator lights were like low, so I got my voltage meter and checked the sockets, I was only getting 60 volts."

Joseph Silva soon went outside to see what was going on.

"I saw the fire department down there in like a truck, and another truck. So I went and there was kind of smoke coming out of the field. So I drove down there and there was a guy on the ground, they were doing CPR on him," Joseph Silva told FOX40.

PG&E crews spent most of Friday afternoon and evening fixing the problem.

Neighbors told FOX40 there's always been a problem of copper theft in the area.

Silva and other neighbors said the subdivision was never finished after the recession, and ever since, thieves have been taking wiring from the now overgrown field.

Meanwhile police are still trying to locate the other man the suspect was with.

"We are looking for a man, he's described as an unknown race male, and that's the only description that we have," said Officer Joe Silva, spokesperson for the Stockton Police Department.